Chapter 2

Knock knock knock "Penny", Knock knock knock "Penny", Knock knock knock "Penny"

Penny opened the door angrily, what did he want now hadn't he already insulted her enough?

"You forgot your laundry." He said handing her the laundry basket with her clothes in it.

Penny grabbed the laundry basket and tossed it on the floor she was about to shut the door in his face when he put his arm up to stop her.
"Can I come in?" He asked.

"Why, so you can insult me some more?" She spat at him.

"I didn't mean it as in insult." He said stepping around her and walking into the room, he sat on the couch with his laundry basket.

"Well how else was I supposed to take it?" She asked still standing by the door with her arms crossed.

"Well I just meant that no matter how many times you've failed you don't give up on anything and I admire that, it makes a person worker harder than others, that's why I have no doubt that you should get the part." Sheldon said grabbing her laundry basket that was now sitting on the floor. He couldn't take it any more if he had to look at that unfolded clothing any longer he was going to explode, he started carefully folding the clothes. Penny walked over and started folding as well, only she was not folding carefully she was folding like a madwoman. "Give me, your folding it wrong." He said grabbing the shirt out of her hand. He noticed a small smile appear in the corner of her he knew she had been folding badly on purpose so that he would fold the laundry for her.

"Well, thanks. If I do get the part I'll be gone for a few months while I'm shooting the movie." Penny said.

"That's why Leonard doesn't want you to do it, he's afraid you're going to leave and never come back." Sheldon said.

"I know he means well and I do love him and I will miss him too, you don't think I'm crazy for taking this chance do you?" Penny asked.

"No you need to take it, like I said before "we are both dreamers." I understand you needing to do it." Sheldon said getting up and walking to her room to put her clothes up, he knew if he didn't they would just end up on the floor with the thousand pair of panties that were already there. Once the clothes were put up he walked towards the front door.

"Leaving?" Penny asked curiously, for some reason she didn't feel like being alone right now but she also didn't want to ask him to stay, maybe she would call Bernadette and Amy and they could have a girl's night.

"Yes, Amy's coming over she wants to spend the night again." Sheldon said.

"Rated G again?

"Of course." Sheldon replied.

"Why don't you just do it with her already, you guys have been dating for a long time." Penny said.

"I'll have to warn Leonard that you have officially gone insane." Sheldon said and as he left her apartment shaking his head.

Sheldon opened the door to his own apartment and found Amy already there sitting on the couch in her pajamas, she smiled at him as he came in.

"Hello Sheldon." Amy said.

"Hello, Amy, have you seen Leonard I need to warn him about Penny." He said.

"He answered the door and then promptly went to his room, I knocked on his door to ask if he was OK but he told me to go away. What's going on with Penny?" Amy asked curiously.

"She's crazy but what else is new." Sheldon said as he sat down next to Amy. While Amy and Sheldon were in the middle of the movie they were watching Leonard finally came out of his room and left the apartment.

"Penny?" Leonard said peaking his head inside her apartment hoping that she wasn't already asleep.

"I'm in bed, what?" Penny said, she didn't really want to talk to him at the moment once Sheldon had left the apartment she had not been able to get ahold of Bernadette and of course Amy was busy with Sheldon so Penny had spent some time thinking.

She could feel her and Leonard slipping away from each other and it was beginning to seem like the harder they tried to make each other happy the more they lost of themselves and she didn't like what it was doing to her or him. She had hoped agreeing to marry him would put some perspective on her life but she was still unhappy and she had hoped the "coitus" to use Sheldon's word would get better but it hadn't, they were still lacking the passion she had felt in other relationships.

"I'm sorry about earlier, I really don't mind if you do the audition, I just don't want you to get your hopes up and get all depressed again when you don't get the part." Leonard said walking into the bedroom.

"Leonard, we need to talk." Penny said walking with him back to the living room.

"Well this doesn't sound good, is everything OK?" He asked sitting down on the couch.

"How do you think our relationship is going, are you happy with me?" Penny asked staring into his eyes. Last time she had tried breaking things off with him he had given her his puppy dog look and she had ended up sleeping with him and ultimately deciding to try and make it work because she really did care about him, but it wouldn't this time, it was time to do what she should've done a year and a half ago.

"I love you, and I want to marry you." Leonard said grabbing her hand trying not to cry.

"I love you too, that's why we need to talk about this before we actually do get married." Penny said.

"Where is this going?" Leonard replied in an unsure tone.

"Are you truly happy with me as I am today, without changing a thing about me." Penny asked.

"Yes."

"Be honest Leonard." Penny said exasperated.

"OK, so maybe there are a few things I would change, like the fact you are not into anything I am, I still think you need to read more and you could try going back to school again and getting a degree that way we would have more to talk about, also I still think you need to drop the acting dream it's a dead end." Leonard said.

"That's changing everything about me, I'm never going to be that person Leonard, that's a problem. It's not just you though it's me too. I have things I would change about you too, like the fact you back down from a confrontation instead of facing it head on, you give up at the first sign of defeat. We are constantly making each other do things the other doesn't like, I'm always dragging you to sport bars you're always trying to get me to do some science or comic book thing with you. You have to see it too, this is not working we aren't working around each other's personality traits like normal people do. We are trying to change everything about each other we have to manipulate each other to get anything we want out of this and it's not fair to either one of us. " Penny finished, hoping he would understand what she was trying to say.

"Well I wouldn't change the way you look." Leonard said.

"And I wouldn't change the fact that you are smart." Penny said, feeling a little better at least there was still something they liked about each other.

"I really thought you the perfect woman." Leonard said patting her on the leg, he knew where this was going now, truth be told he had seen these thing as well but hadn't had the courage to bring them up.

"I think you like the idea of me, but admit it you're bored and I'm bored it just isn't working. I think it needs to end so we can part as friends. You will always have a special place in my heart." She said choking back tears as she slipped the engagement ring off of her finger and held it out for Leonard to take. She had put her heart and soul into the relationship to try and make it work but she couldn't do it any more, she couldn't lose any more of herself.

"I agree I think it's time to move on." Leonard said taking the ring from her. They hugged and as he walked out the door he couldn't help but start crying, he had also put a lot of time and energy in trying to make her happy and it hurt that in the end he couldn't.